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Student café

Short description

The student café is an option for students at Bachelor’s level in Computer Science to drop in and work with assignments and projects. Teachers and student teachers are available for assistance in the café.

Teacher's motivation

Every day during term time, teachers and student teachers are present in the student café, ready to help study groups and individual students with theoretical and practical tasks and reports in preparation for the ordinary lectures and teaching sessions. The student café is a space in which students should be able to speak freely about academic and study-related subjects with their fellow students, student teachers or teachers. The café is also an initiative intended to curb drop-outs by strengthening the students’ academic and social integration in the learning environment.

Description of the activity

The student café is staffed by teachers and student teachers from courses offered in the semester in question. Certain time slots in the café are allocated for students from different levels of study, and the number of teachers and student teachers present will be higher for younger than for older year groups.

The following must be considered:

  • How should the initiative be launched? Should only a few courses or levels of study be given the option initially?
  • What resources are available? Are rooms available, or should they be booked?
  • Who will work in the student café? For instance student teachers, older students, teachers or other permanent staff?
  • What are the students’ needs when working in groups? For instance physical facilities such as whiteboards and coffee makers.
  • How to advertise where the students can get help for what, when and by whom? Consider, for instance, certain sections in the room or sessions for specific topics or subjects.

Outcome of the activity

The outcome of the activity is that students become better prepared for studying, and hopefully the activity will contribute to student well-being in the learning environment.

Worth considering

  • It may be considered to roll out the initiative in stages, starting with the first and second semesters of a programme. 
  • How to support the social aspect of the initiative? For instance by supplying a coffee maker or other similar facility.
  • What resources are available? Both as regards rooms and staff.

Activities

    Examples of practice


      Basic information

      • Faculty: Natural Sciences
      • Degree Programme: Computer Science
      • Course: All courses for which this is relevant
      • Study level: Bachelor’s degree programmes
      • Course size: Open for all students
      • Teaching method: Supervision
      • Extent: Activity
      • Primary type of activity: Acquisition
      • How the case was conduted: Campus teaching

      Links and materials

      Visit and find inspiration at the homepage of the student café. (in Danish)

      This example of practice is developed in connection to "Projekt 1. studieår", where initiatives for retention at the faculty of arts at Aarhus University was mapped.